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Lady
Frogs stay close, but fall to top-ranked team
By Donna Tommelleo
Associated Press
STORRS, Conn. — Diana Taurasi scored a career-high
35 points to lead top-seeded Connecticut to an 81-66
win over stubborn TCU on Tuesday night.
The
junior guard had 10 points in an 18-2 run to open the
second half, erasing a two-point halftime deficit. UConn
(33-1) has only trailed three times in the last 87 games
and for most of the first half, the Huskies’ home-winning
streak of 62 games was in jeopardy.
UConn
will play Big East rival Boston College in the East
Regional semifinal Sunday in Dayton, Ohio.
Against
the ninth-seeded Lady Frogs (20-14), UConn ran into
a team just as big and fast. Its problems started in
the middle against forward Sandora Irvin, who led TCU
with 19 points and nine rebounds.
The
school’s all-time leader in blocked shots, Irvin
dominated inside, putting UConn defenders in foul trouble
early. The 6-foot-4 sophomore got solid help on the
perimeter as Tricia Payne hit a pair of 3s and Tiffany
Evans added another in the first three minutes of the
game.
Taurasi
brought the defending national champs back with consecutive
3s to tie it at 8, but the Lady Frogs’ hustle and
size inside kept the Huskies on their heels, and they
stretched the lead to seven twice in the half.
With
Irvin out late in the half due to foul trouble, UConn
found more success inside. The Huskies tied the game
at 33 on a layup by Willnett Crockett with 24 seconds
before halftime. That lasted just a few seconds as an
inside bucket by Tiffany Evans put TCU up 35-33 at the
half.
Taurasi
took over in the second half as the Huskies went on
their big run. TCU never recovered and trailed by as
many as 19.
But
Irvin wouldn’t go away. She drew the fourth foul
on both Taurasi and center Jessica Moore in the final
10 minutes. With both out, TCU went on an 11-2 run,
which included Irvin going 8-of-10 from the foul line.
Taurasi
returned in time to hit a 3-pointer with 8:11 left as
the Huskies held off the Lady Frogs the rest of the
way.
Ashley
Battle finished with 16 points and a team-high 11 boards
for UConn. Moore had a dozen points and nine boards
as UConn outrebounded TCU 44-34.
Payne
had 14 points for TCU and Evans added 12.
The
Lady Frogs failed to advance beyond the second round
for the third straight year.
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